Skip to main content

Someone played competitive ‘Dragon Ball FighterZ’ with a ‘Rock Band’ piano

dragon ball fighterz rock band controller review 1103
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Dragon Ball FighterZ is a ridiculously fast and intense fighting game. It’s the type of game that, for most serious players, asks to be played with a fight stick. Of course, regular PS4 and Xbox One controllers work fine as well. But, um, what about a PS3 Rock Band piano controller? Well, apparently that does the trick, too — at least for one crafty guy (via Kotaku).

https://twitter.com/TorontoJoe/status/959850486823309315

Recommended Videos

As bonkers as that may look, a guy named Greg did in fact mod a PS3 Rock Band piano to play with some rather unconventional choices. Greg not only played FighterZ with a Rock Band controller, but he came out of his tournament pool as the number one seed. We can’t help but wonder how dominant Greg is with the fight stick on the table in front of him.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Playing games with unconventional controllers has become something of a trend in recent years.

Dark Souls aficionado Benjamin Gwin holds an actual Guinness World Record for beating the super challenging RPG with a dizzying nine alternative controllers. He too used a Rock Band piano, as well as the drum kit, guitar controller, the microphone, a Dance Dance Revolution mat, a Wii remote, a steering wheel, and a race wheel. Because of Dark Souls‘ much talked about difficulty, playing with weird controllers has become popular within the space.

The most jaw-dropping instance of playing with a bizarre controller probably belongs to Twitch user Rudeism. In 2016, he celebrated his love for Overwatch hero Winston by rigging up a controller comprised of bananas. Yes, real bananas. He connected wires and metal to unpeeled bananas and thanks to the potassium, they worked as conductors. Pushing down on a banana triggered an action on screen.

As you can see, Greg isn’t alone in his desire to think of strange ways to play his favorite games. However, we will say that using a Rock Band piano controller in a fighting game comes in as one of the most impressive examples of this pursuit. Fighting games, particularly fast ones like FighterZ, take a degree of technical skill not seen in other genres. Abandoning a fight stick for a piano controller? That takes some serious skill.

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
I played It Takes Two’s follow-up, Split Fiction, with Josef Fares
Zoe and Mio stand in front of a glowing object in Split Fiction.

Split Fiction™ | Official Reveal Trailer

At the 2024 Game Awards, Hazelight revealed Split Fiction, the studio's follow-up to It Takes Two. The co-op game, which combines sci-fi and fantasy, will once again be published under EA’s Originals Label. It launches on March 6, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

Read more
Play Elden Ring: Nightreign together with friends in 2025
elden ring nightreign announcement beabppwiskoqaeftbhan

Elden Ring: Nightreign looks like the already-wild world of The Lands Between mashed up with Monster Hunter for a bit of casual kaiju-slaying, and it looks absolutely amazing. Announced at The Game Awards 2024, Nightreign came as a surprise announcement that sent fans into a fervor as soon as everyone realized what it was: a truly multiplayer Elden Ring.

The three-minute-long cinematic trailer depicted magical combat, huge weapons, and even bigger monsters. Some of the foes are so fearsome that you won't be able to defeat them alone; instead, band together with friends to take on waves of enemies and gargantuan beasts. But the game isn't just fighting huge creatures.
ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN – REVEAL GAMEPLAY TRAILER
The trailer shows a variety of weapons including daggers, staves, and almost comically large bows. Vast landscapes demand you to explore to uncover their secrets, with a variety of traversal options that include flying mounts to help scale the gothic ruins littered throughout the land.

Read more
Steel Hunters is the next game from the studio behind World of Tanks
A screenshot of two players in Steel Hunters.

Steel Hunters is a new extraction shooter from the developers of World of Tanks. It creates an interesting blend of extraction shooter objectives with tactical third-person action into a unique free-to-play multiplayer game focusing on teams of two. Just announced at The Game Awards 2024, Steel Hunters will have a 10-day closed beta test that players can sign up for now to get into the action.

Steel Hunters is entirely designed around being a duos game. Each Hunter has a unique set of abilities similar to that of a hero shooter that complement each other. The team uses the term "duo symbiosis" to describe one of their guiding philosophies in game design. It's life or death on the battlefield, and every moment counts. As teams land on the map, they'll begin scavenging for stat points, buffs, and other key objectives and AI-controlled enemies. They'll need to play smart and slow, working together to know when to engage an enemy team or when to take the scenic route to avoid conflict.

Read more